BY BOBBY HALTON
A few years ago, several scenario planners were huddled in an emergency management meeting, trying to determine how to structure a tornado response and recovery scenario for the state of Oklahoma. One of the planners suggested they model the event around an F5—the strongest level of tornado known. The others protested, saying that there had been very few F5s in America so it was inappropriate to base an exercise on an event of that scope. There were concerns that an exercise of the scope of an F5 would overwhelm the participants. The planners eventually all agreed that an F5 event was highly improbable and such a remote possibility that they should plan the scenario on a smaller event. The training would be good enough; it would meet the area’s needs.
A few days later, an F5 tornado tore through Oklahoma City, and 36 people lost their lives. More than 8,000 homes were damaged or destroyed, as were around 120 businesses; estimates are that the tornado caused $1.1 billion in damage, making it the single most costly tornado in U.S. history. There are significant lessons to take away from May 3, 1999, related to being prepared and being safe when conducting operations.
First, as the old saying goes, “Mother Nature will pick her place, pick her time, and kick our butts.” So never underestimate the forces of nature. Additionally, we know that there are three things (among others) that make a difference with regard to enhancing our safety and the public’s safety: First is training, second is tactics, and third is timing.
There is a battle raging in almost every city in America today over where to cut to try to balance shrinking budgets and still meet the rising demands of providing services. These are the times that try a visionary leader’s ability to control his passions. Nevertheless, we must control our passions when speaking to budgeting. We must have data, not emotions; facts, not speculation. Those of us who swore an oath to protect and serve recognize almost immediately that the men and women who work in nonemergency work approach the current fiscal dilemma with a different vision and a different direction.
The budget ax invariably falls first on the neck of training, severing the head from the mission and leaving a lifeless rotting corpse of closed offices and discontinued programs. As funds are removed and cuts and bans are established, skill sets slowly will erode, and information will not be passed on. Safety—both internally for firefighters and externally for the citizens—begins unquestionably to suffer. When training is summarily cut, it confirms the assumption of many firefighters that municipal leadership views training as an expense, which it is not. Training is an investment.
There is a far more serious consequence long term for firefighting teams. An old saying by Colonel du Picq goes like this: “Four brave men who do not know each other well will not dare attack a lion. Four less brave, but knowing each other well, sure of their reliability and consequently of mutual aid will attack resolutely. There is the science of organization of armies in a nutshell.” What the good colonel understood is that training together in realistic and demanding environments builds teams, builds trust, and builds safety.
The most glaring example of how serious our national training cut crisis is for fire service funding came this month when the Arizona state fire marshal’s office announced new budget reductions, suspending programs and reducing staffing. Some of the cuts included suspension of the training and certification programs, the training director transitioning his duties to other organizations, no more training record keeping, and elimination of the community college fire service career program. How will the brave who serve Arizona gain the advantages training brings?
The four brave men circling the lion are resolute because they have practiced the moves, the tactics each of them will make to fell the lion. The first might distract so the second can strike while the third sweeps the legs and the fourth throws a net. The strategy must always be based on a firm understanding of tactics; we have to understand what the other is doing, when, and why. When we fail to practice our tactics to gain a better understanding of the underlying concepts and nuances, we cannot improve—we can only stay where we are or, more assuredly, our skills will deteriorate.
The coordination of tactics is timing: vent now, force now, hit the fire now. We can enhance the effectiveness of our resources through good coordination and precision timing. We are highly efficient and much safer when we have trust and confidence in our fellow teams and team members. However, it requires preparation, it requires building relationships and coordinating the timing of effective teams, and it requires investment.
Developing and maintaining effective and well-prepared fire departments require an investment of time and training. Successful departments are those with dedicated and skilled leadership—skilled at every level of the process, from dressing the hosebed to explaining the budget. They are those departments that encourage their members to think, to challenge the status quo, and to always look out for the wellness and safety of the team. These departments allow the officers and firefighters to do the tasks the best way they see fit in the situation they find themselves in. To be a safe and effective department demands we provide the opportunity to train at home and elsewhere, often and for as long as it takes, actually continuously.
The planners in Oklahoma a decade ago were good people. They thought, like most of the people, that the train probably won’t derail here, that the plane most likely won’t fall here, that the school most likely will never have a fire … but then again, like the great philosopher Yogi Berra said, “It’s hard to predict, especially the future.” We will persevere this time. We will emerge stronger. America expects nothing less from her bravest.
